This blog is dedicated to our men and women in uniforms, as well as to all militaria enthusiasts. "Military Insignia 3D" is about the art of military heraldry. This will be an interactive diary, following my project. The idea is to recreate and gather under one roof the most comprehensive collection of high quality military insignia, highlighting the true beauty of such images.
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Thursday, February 7, 2013

39th Special Forces Detachment (SFD-K) and Republic of Korea Special Forces

Quite often, mainly thanks to growing popularity of my “Military Insignia 3D” project, I would be approached directly by unit commanders or military veterans
with requests to recreate their unit insignia using my somewhat unorthodox technique. At first, I
thought this time was no different. Little did I know that a short e-mail I
have then received would trigger an entirely new chapter of my project, new
friendships, an occasion to learn a world about one of the most interesting
units of the U.S. Special Forces history, as well as a chance to get acquainted with
previously unknown to me Special Forces of a friendly country, and, to
top it all up -- an opportunity for my artwork to be a featured in a new remarkable
book, written by veterans of the above-mentioned Special Forces unit… But, I guess,
I am getting a bit ahead of myself. So, let’s
rewind…

It was mid-April of 2012, when I was contacted by Chuck
Stanton, US Army Retired, First Sergeant (SF). Here is an excerpt from his
original message:

“…Serge,

A bit of personal background as to why I'm
sending this email to you. I am retired U.S. Army and served with Special
Forces. In particular, the Detachment in Korea is what this is all about (I
served three years on that team). Commonly known as Special Forces
Detachment-Korea, or, Det-K, it is the longest serving forward-deployed Special
Forces detachment in US Army history. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of
that deployment.

Presently, I
along with three other former members (Team Leader, Team Sergeant Major,
Operations/Intel Sergeant, and of course, myself) are preparing a book by, and
for, the current and past members of the team. A close analogy in format would
be a high school year book, or a military unit deployment book. There, the
similarity ends. Each member is writing a short narrative of their memories as
well as providing any photos they may have. We, the four horsemen are putting
it all together and will publish the book.

I am the one who
is doing the overall design and layout of the book, and I was looking through
the WWW for some clean copies of the uniform patches we wear on our uniform
which represent the Republic of Korea Army Special Forces (ROKA SF) brigades we
advise...which is how I happen to find your webpage.

I wonder if 1.)
I can use a couple of the Special Operations emblems you have created in our
book, and, 2.) Could I convince you to see if you might do a work-up on the
ROKA SF brigade patches for us to use in our book….”

Needless to say, I was interested. Especially so, because I knew
very little, if anything, about SFD-K, and even less about ROKA Special Forces.
Also, projects of such nature happen to be my true passion, because they
usually involve tons of research, loads of new discoveries and hours of
designing from scratch. And last, but not least – the idea of my artwork being
featured in such a very special book felt quite right.

As a result of this project, I have recreated several
SFD-K patches, learned a lot about the unit, amassed considerable amount of
information about Republic of Korea Army Special Forces, and recreated patches
of the ROKA Special Warfare Command (ROKASWC), all the seven ROKA SF brigades,
as well as one Special Missions Battalion. I also expanded my Special Forces section
of the “Military Insignia 3D” project - its Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR) section to be exact, and added an entirely new chapter to my
project dedicated to the Republic of Korea Army (or ROKA for short). At the
time of this writing, the final draft of the book called “DET-K: The First
Fifty Years” (with my insignia featured in it) has been sent to the publisher,
and I can’t wait for my very own hard copy of the book!Below are the results of this adventure,
along with a few notes on the units involved…

The 39th Special Forces Detachment (Airborne), 1st
Special Forces Regiment primarily helps train Republic of Korea special warfare
units in specialized tactics, techniques, and procedures. In a wartime scenario
on the Korean peninsula, the members of the Detachment would operate as
coalition support team leaders. Under the operational control of Special
Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR), the Detachment is formally assigned to the
1st Special Forces Group (Airborne).

The 39th Special Forces Detachment, 1st Special Forces
Regiment was first constituted on 27 August 1965 in the Regular Army as the
39th Special Forces Detachment, 1st Special Forces. It was activated on 1
September 1965 in Germany. Stationed in Berlin as part of US forces there, the
Detachment was primarily tasked with preparing to assist partisans in a
stay-behind capacity in the event of a Soviet seizure of Allied areas of
Berlin.

This function had first been the responsibility of a
previous iteration of the Detachment, known as the 7761st Army Unit, possibly a
cover designation. This unit had been formed from 6 Operational Detachment
Alphas ("A Teams") from the original 10th Special Forces Group in
August 1956. The unit had been embedded within Headquarters and Headquarters
company, 6th Infantry Regiment, Regimental Headquarters. Each team at that time
was comprised of one Master Sergeant and 5 team members. Overall Officer in
charge of the group was a major, assisted by a Captain. In April 1958, the unit
was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, US Army Garrison Berlin
with a new name: Detachment A (Det A). In April 1962, Detachment A was
separated from the Garrison and became Detachment A, Berlin Brigade, US Army
Europe (USAREUR). This was continued to be used, possibly as a cover
designation, even after the formal activation of 39th Special Forces Detachment
in 1965.

The 39th Special Forces Detachment continued the
unconventional warfare mission in Berlin mission until it was inactivated on 1
October 1984 .

The 39th Special Forces Detachment was reactivated on 16
October 2005 in Korea. Concurrently, Special Forces Detachment - Korea (SFD-K)
was inactivated and reflagged as the 39th Special Forces Detachment. In Korea,
the 39th Special Forces Detachment took over the training and other missions
previously handled by SFD-K.

Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command (ROKASWC),
(Korean: 대한민국육군특수전사령부)
also known as Republic of Korea Black Beret Commandos is the military command
of the Republic of Korea Army responsible for their special operation forces.
It consists of 6 brigades, and its main tasks include conducting reconnaissance
and other tasks, mostly behind enemy lines. Its tasks include but not limited
to collecting secret information in enemy territory, spotting ROK military
firepower, and carrying out other designated tasks. The Special Warfare Command
brigades are trained for wartime missions behind enemy lines. Although
information on the organization of these units was unavailable in 1990, they
probably were among the best-trained and most combat-ready forces in the army.

Since 1993, the South Korean military has trained experts
by sending officers to various PKO training institutions such as the Northern
Europe United Nations Training Corps (UNTC), Poland, and Ireland. And since
1995, officers and related government officials have been sent to the Pearson Peacekeeping
Center (PPC) in Canada. To lay the foundation for PKO education domestically,
in 1995 the military designated the Joint Services Staff College to be the lead
institution to educate officers to become military observers and staff. In May
1998, the PKO Department was officially inaugurated within the college.
Moreover, the Special Warfare Command's Education Corps was designated as the
institution solely responsible for unit-level education of PKO forces by
providing solid education for infantry and engineer personnel. The command includes seven special warfare
brigades that receive special training for counter-terrorist missions. These
seven brigades were funded in 1957 and fall under the jurisdiction of the
Special Warfare Command, which was founded in 1969. ROK special forces
brigade’s main tasks include collecting information in enemy territory and
carrying out special missions.

ROK Special Forces brigades work in close relationship
with their counterparts in the United States Army Special Forces. Volunteers
for these brigades undergo training in high skilled weapon handling and
parachuting. Units of the command include:

The United Nations Partisan Infantry Korea (UNPIK) (주한국제연합유격군), ), also known as the White Tigers, was a unit
during the Korean War that was consolidated under the control of Eighth United
States Army, Korea's 8th Army G-3 Miscellaneous Group, 8086th and 8240th Army
Unit. Formerly known as United Nations Partisan Forces Korea, or United Nations
Partisan Infantry Korea, it was a unit comprised of Indigenous personnel with
international military advisors (US personnel assigned under 8240th Army Unit
and 8242nd Army Unit, from February 1951 to February 1954) during the KOREAN
WAR; formerly known as Combined Command for Reconnaissance Activities Korea
(CCRAK). The covert techniques established by OSS, enhanced by UNPFK and JACK,
were inherited by SOG, and have since been passed to Joint Special Operations
Command (JSOC) and US Special Operations Command (USSOC). The details about the
undercover operation was made public by the US Army in 1990. The unit worked
deep inside North Korea to gather intelligence, conduct raids and sabotage,
rescue POWs, recruit & lead guerrilla armies and create confusion in the
enemy’s rear.

The unit is widely seen as the second steppingstone
towards the setting up of a permanent special forces doctrine in the US Army. A
documentary about the unit has been produced by the History Channel as part of their
Heroes under fire series. UNPIK was disbanded in 1954.

The island Wollaedo in the Yellow Sea was used as a base
by pro-Southern partisans during the war. This position was regularly bombarded
by Northern artillery on the mainland of Cape Changsan. In 1952, a group of
partisans working together with UNPIK landed on the cape. They successfully
took control of and destroyed the artillery site, escaping with small losses.

In January 1951, it came to the attention of 8th Army that a large
number of anti-communist North Ko­reans had fought their way to Korea’s west
coast and sailed to the offshore islands. These men had become par­tisans
fighting to free their homeland of scourge of communism. The guer­rilla
Section, 8th US Army
G3 Misc. was formed and a cadre known as LEOPARD took control of these
partisans and began operations in the north. Concomitantly, US Army Spe­cial
Forces activated at Fort Bragg, NC and 90 Special Forces Soldiers were deployed
to Korea to work with these partisan Soldiers. With more than 8000 partisan
Soldiers, a second control unit WOLFPACKwas born. LEOPARDs strength expanded
daily and, by June 1951, west coast partisans counted over eight thousand men
on the active roster. This, plus distance and poor communications, made
Miscellaneous Group Headquarters rethink its organization. WOLFPACK
Headquarters was established to command partisan operations on the south coast
of Hwanghae Province while LEOPARD moved its forward headquarters north to
Ch'o-do and commanded west coast operations from the 38th Parallel north to the
Yalu River. WOLFPACK initially established its headquarters on Yonp'yong-do, an
island group at the mouth of Haeju Estuary centrally located between
Paengnyong-do to the west and the mouth of the Han River to the east.

WOLFPACK Headquarters later moved to Kanghwa-do, an
island at the mouth of the Han adjacent to the mainland. Results by these two
units were excellent By the Cease-fire, they were credited with forcing the
enemy to have 75,000 troops on security duty in Hwanghae Province alone.
Additionally, they compiled a phenomenal record of successful actions combined
with a relatively small loss record.

On May 5, 1951, the Guerrilla Section, 8th Army G3
Miscellaneous Division, became an independent Army unit - the 8086th Army Unit.
This was changed to Far East Command Liaison Detachment, Korea, FECLD-K 8240th
AU on 10 Dec 1951 and all partisan operations came under its Guerrilla
Division, United Nations Partisan Forces, Korea (UNPIK). At this time, all
division TAC-Intel (TLO units) and 8th Army positive intelligence operations
were consolidated under Combined Command Reconnaissance Activities, Korea
(CCRAK), 8240th AU. BAKER split. The training section remained at Kijang as the
1st Partisan Airborne Infantry Regiment (PAIR). The operational section moved
to K-16 (Seoul City Airport between Seoul and Yongdong-po), was redesignated
the Airborne Special Missions Platoon, and given the code name AVIARY.

This structure remained in place until December 1952 when
LEOPARD, WOLFPACK, AND TASK FORCE SCANNON (formerly KIRKLAND) were redesignated
Partisan Infantry Regiments (PIR) and UNPFK headquarters the United Nations
Partisan Infantry, Korea (UNPIK). The 1st PIR moved to Yongdong-po at this
time. All units retained these designations until disbandment in April, 1954.

The 1st Special Forces Brigade (Eagle) (1 공수특전여단 '독수리') was the original unit of the ROK Army Special Forces.
It is a very proud unit with a long heritage. 1st BDE was founded on 01 April
1958 as the 1st Combat Regiment. On 01 October 1959, it was re-designated as
the 1st Airborne Special Forces Group. In September 1972, it was re-designated
again as the 1st ROK SF BDE. The BDE is very proud to have one of 10 its former
Commanders, BG Chun Doo Hwan, serve as the President of Korea from 1980-1987.
Their Mascot is the Eagle.

The 3rd Special Forces Brigade (Flying Tiger)(3+공수특전여단 '플라잉타이거')
was founded on 18 January 1969 as the 1st Ranger BDE. On 10 September 1972, the
unit was re-designated as the 3rd ROK SF BDE. Although all the BDE’s practice martial arts, the 3rd BDE is well known for its
Tae-Kwon-Do. They performed Tae-Kwon-Do demonstrations in the 1986 Seoul Asian
Games, 1988 Seoul Olympics, and the Annual Armed Forces Day Demonstrations.
Their mascot is the Flying Tiger.

The 7th Special Forces Brigade (Pegasus) (7공수특전여단 '천마부대') was founded on 01
October 1974. The BDE is proud of their HAHO/HALO capabilities and maintains
one of the only usable year-round Drop Zones. Their mascot is the Flying Horse.

The 9th Special Forces Brigade (Ghost) (9공수특전여단 '귀성부대') was founded along with
the 7th BDE on 1 October 1974. The BDE is very proud of having one of their
former Commanders, Rho Tae Woo, serve as the Korean President from 1987-1992.
Their mascot is the Phantom.

The 13th Special Forces Brigade (Black Panther) (13공수특전여단 '흑표부대') was founded along with
the 9th BDE on 01 October 1976 as a provisional unit along with the 11 BDE but
not officially recognized until 01 October 1977. The 13th BDE maintains the SWC’s mountain training site near the BDE. Their mascot is the
Panther.

The 707th Special Missions Battalion (White Tiger) (707특수임무대대 '백호부대') is the elite Special
Forces unit in the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command. The
battalion's nickname is 'White Tiger.' The 707th Special Mission Battalion was
founded in late 1981 under Republic of Korean Presidential Executive Order as a
world-class Counter-Terrorist force to support Domestic and International
Counter-Terrorism. It owns and operates a multi-complex CT training site for
the SWC and hosts multi-national counter-terrorist training. The battalion's
nickname is 'White Tiger.'

The 707th Special Mission Battalion also trains with
foreign partners, such as U.S. Army Special Operations Command Delta Force,
British Army SAS, Russian FSB Alpha Group, French Gendarmerie GIGN, US FBI HRT,
Hong Kong SDU, and Singapore Police Force STAR. The purpose is to experience
and increase relationships and exchanges with international Special Forces
communities. The South Korean government
lavishly funds the battalion, and as a result The 707th Special Mission
Battalion uses a wide variety of weapons. The HK MP5 is used as for close quarters
battle or hostage rescue missions. The Benelli Tactical Super-90 shotgun with
pistol grips is used for breaching purposes or to give a shock effect. For
sniping missions, the unit uses AW series sniper rifles or MOD.SSG-69 sniper
rifle. For common special operations, the unit uses K-1A Carbine, K-2 Assault
Rifle, and K-7 9mm Silenced Sub Machine Gun. If heavy firepower is needed, the
unit has K-3 Light Machine Gun, K-201 40mm grenade launcher and deploy Short
Brothers Javelin man-portable SAMs as a defense against low-level aircraft. The
unit's main secondary side weapons are IMI Jericho 941F Tactical and HK USP9
Tactical. The unit’s mascot is the White Tiger.

As always, the above insignia are available on a limited
number of selected quality products via my “Military Insignia” galleries atZazzle. You may simply follow the direct links in the article to navigate to
the corresponding galleries

I will also make my insignia designs available free of
charge to any military units and personnel, for any non-profit/non-commercial
and charitable causes, benefiting troops and their families. In addition, I
would make my designs available free of charge to any military branches,
formations and units for any non-commercial internal duty-specific purposes,
such as unit-related web design, training materials or presentations, as I did
on many occasions in the past.

Special thanks to Chuck Stanton, US Army Retired, First Sergeant (SF). The above information provided in part by U.S. Army Center
of Military history, The Institute of Heraldry, Global Security, and official
websites of the above-mentioned units.

Help keeping this project alive!

About Me

Toronto-based artist/designer/illustrator, specializing primarily in all aspects of heraldry, yet constantly experimenting with various forms of digital art, photography and mixed media arts. Former military , Cpt., Artillery, 10 years of service. Former IT professional with IBM and Royal Bank of Canada.
Driving force behind C.7 Design Studio and Dot7Art Studio, which became household names in military and civic heraldry. My artwork is being used by military forces of several countries, as well as by numerous organizations and business entities. My art was also featured in a number of online and print publications, blockbuster movies and documentaries.
In early 2009, I have created and further developed my very own M-LETT 3D/2.5D (Multi-Layer Enhancement and Texturing Technique), which, in a nutshell, is a method of simulating 3D appearance via specific 2D processes (still the work in progress). I utilize this method extensively while working on my art pieces, which makes them look somewhat unorthodox and unique...
Among other things, I am a contributing artist with ProHeraldica (USA), ProHeraldica (Europe) and Fine Legacy (Authentic Coats of Arms and Treasures).